The City of Owensboro will host host a Neighborhood Alliance Community Picnic Saturday at Moreland Park from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. This will be the first time in recent history that all the neighborhood alliances come together for this picnic, and City officials hope the event is able to bring more people from different parts of the City together.
Executive Assistant to the Mayor Adrienne Carrico said she came up with the idea of holding a singular picnic to bring the community together, but also to get more people excited about joining a neighborhood alliance.
“When I first started this position last year, I noticed that all the neighborhood alliance numbers were dwindling,” she said. “I thought we’d do one big neighborhood picnic so that everyone can come.”
While the City is celebrating 20 years of Owensboro neighborhood alliances, which were originally enacted in 1999, Carrico said numbers have gone down due to generational changes.
“We’ve had people who’ve been there from the start, but some of them are getting older,” she said. “They might not have enough time to get involved, or they’ve lost interest in the alliance.”
However, a recent resurgence of neighborhood alliance activity — most notably, the Northwest Neighborhood Alliance — has been encouraging to see from the City’s perspective.
“While we have a few that are tapering off, there are several that are still very active,” she said. “Wesleyan Shawnee still does their Easter egg hunt and Dugan Best has their gala each year. The Northwest alliance has been very active lately due to [issues with violence they’re trying to combat].”
At Saturday’s picnic, any and all are welcome — not just those who belong to an alliance. Owensboro Police Department will be grilling hamburgers and hotdogs from Rally’s, a blood drive will be held, and OPD and Owensboro Fire Department will bring their vehicles for kids to climb and play on, Carrico said.
Other local agencies participating include Senior Community Center of Owensboro-Daviess County and Green River District Health Department, who will be offering blood pressure screenings during the day.
Three large inflatables will be available for kids and the Owensboro Twisters will make balloon animals as well. Owensboro Health will conduct car seat checks for those wanting one, and a limited number of free car seats will be given to those whose seats are deemed damaged, unfit or expired.
Carrico said serving on a neighborhood alliance is a great way to get connected to your neighborhood, meet new people and be involved in the City’s happenings. Meetings typically take place once a month, and can be attended by anyone in the community, though alliance members decide how their neighborhoods’ allocated funds are spent each year and help organize different events for the community.
Carrico said she hopes more people decide to get involved with their respective neighborhood alliances.
“Younger generations still don’t know we exist,” she said. “This picnic helps us to get them more involved.”
Those wishing to apply to be a member of their neighborhood alliance can visit owensboro.org or bring their applications to City Hall. If the mayor determines the applicant is a good fit for their alliance, the applicant will be included in the City commission agenda and enacted to serve.
